


I Could Be Anyone, If It Was For You

by 00trumpet



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F, fake dating au, road trip au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 18:26:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16392845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/00trumpet/pseuds/00trumpet
Summary: Kelley and Alex are softball teammates, roommates, and most importantly, best friends in their Senior Year at UC Berkeley.Alex has a wedding to go to and desperately needs a date and Kelley, always willing to do just about anything for Alex, agrees to go. Even if it means fifteen hours in a car with one of the most insufferable people she knows. (But Alex is her favorite person, too, so how bad could it be?)





	I Could Be Anyone, If It Was For You

**Author's Note:**

> Rated mature for a v small, not v graphic sex scene but other than that there's nothing to warn you abt so enjoy!!

_ KELLEY _ , lights up as a text from Alex on Kelley’s phone and she frowns. It’s the fifth one in less than two minutes and Kelley rolls her eyes, deciding to finally text back while Ann is in the bathroom. 

_ Alex if this isn’t important I stg. You know I’m trying to break up with Ann tonight, and you’re making it very difficult to be respectful when you keep texting me. _

Alex’s response is almost immediate, which is lucky, because Ann is still in the bathroom.  _ Oops! Sooo sorry I forgot :( Hope it goes well...ish. I totally spaced and forgot to book a flight for Jeri’s wedding so I have to DRIVE there and I do NOT want to make that drive alone. Please go with me? Pretty please? _ Another text comes in as Kelley glances up to see Ann on her way back over.  _ P.S. I have to leave tomorrow morning. _

Kelley manages to send off one last text before Ann takes her seat.  _ We’ll talk tonight, cool? _

“Something more important than me?”

Kelley sighs. “Sorry, Alex needed to know where I put the paper towels.”

Ann gives Kelley a tight-lipped smile. “Kell, can I say something?”

“Of course.”

“I don’t think this is working anymore.”

“I--what?” Kelley looks up from her hands in disbelief. 

“We’ve been clashing for weeks now. Little arguments over nothing, snappy remarks, ignoring each other’s feelings.” Ann shrugs. “I just don’t think we should fool ourselves and try to keep this going.”

Kelley takes a slow, deep breath to reorganize her thoughts. “I was going to break up with you tonight,” she finally manages to say.

“Oh, Kell,” Ann reaches across the table to squeeze her fingers. “I’m sorry if I hurt your ego or whatever--”

“No, I’m serious.” Kelley’s voice is a bit stronger this time. “Seriously, I was going to break up with you.  _ I’m _ breaking up with  _ you _ , not the other way around.”

“This was part of the problem,” Ann dismisses, shaking her head. “You always have to be in control of every situation. You can’t have your  _ image _ ruined or whatever, so you can’t even let me break up with you. Goodbye, Kelley.” Ann rises from the table and sets a twenty next to where they always bring the bill. 

Kelley stays in her seat, not quite sure what just happened. She replays the scene in her mind again and rubs at her temples, annoyed that it happened this way. For a moment she wonders if Ann was right, but she pushes that thought from her mind, deciding to go talk to Alex before she can dwell on it too long. 

 

\---

 

She rings the doorbell, even though it’s her apartment, too. 

“Kelley?” Alex asks as she opens the door. “Did you forget your key?”

“Nope.” Kelley smiles and steps inside, the light from the hallway allowing Alex to see what’s in her arms. “Just felt more dramatic this way.”

“Why do you have this stuff?”

“A box of twizzlers, a jumbo-size monster, and a map,” Kelley says, setting the stuff on the coffee table.

“Okay, I see that, but why?”

“Perfect recipe for a road trip,” Kelley says in the best  _ duh _ voice she can manage. 

“So you’re going with me?”

“I’m going with you,” Kelley agrees with a nod.

Alex practically jumps into Kelley’s arms and Kelley spins her around in their living room.

“Okay Al,” Kelley sets her down carefully. “Let’s get some rest. Long drive tomorrow.”

“I have such an awesome best friend,” Alex says. She presses a quick kiss to Kelley’s cheek. “Thank you.”

Kelley smiles as she looks back at Alex. “You can always count on me,” she promises. 

 

\---

 

“Thank you, again, for agreeing to go with me to this thing last minute.” She readjusts in the passenger seat and sighs. “Going to  _ both _ sisters’ wedding without a date would be--” she cuts herself off, not sure how to finish the sentence. “Bad. Let’s just say it would be bad.”

“Oh, am I your hot date now? Thought I was just a buddy for the drive?” Kelley teases as she clips her seatbelt, leaning closer to Alex with a smile that makes Alex’s heart skip a beat.

Alex rolls her eyes. “You know what I meant.” 

“I do, I do.” Kelley adjusts her hands on the steering wheel and puts the car in drive, ready to start their trip. “I could be your hot date if you wanted, though.” Her eyes don’t leave the road when she says it and her tone is serious and Alex is caught just a bit off guard by the statement, making her struggle through her response.

“What do you mean?” She finally chokes out.

“Fake date,” Kelley says simply. She turns to look at Alex for a moment and raises an eyebrow. “You’ve never heard of it? I mean your whole family already thinks we’re dating anyway,” she pauses to smile at Alex. “Might as well pretend to be together and help you feel like less of a loser when people ask you about your love life.”

The joking insult is enough to help Alex regain her composure. “Isn’t that how the best love stories always start?” Alex laughs, a glint in her eye.

Kelley laughs in return. It’s a head-thrown-back, too-loud-to-hear-the-stereo, smile-inducing kind of laugh. (It’s Alex’s favorite.) “Right, Lex.” She laughs again, a bit softer this time, and looks over at Alex with a blinding smile. “That’s us. Just another love story.”

Kelley has no idea how right she is.

 

\---

 

“Okay, we need a story,” Kelley says seriously as she pulls into the Starbucks parking lot. (That they stopped at soon after they left, because Alex whined for every sign they passed until Kelley finally pulled over.)

“What do you mean?”

“How we met, how long we’ve been dating, you know,” Kelley shrugs as if it’s obvious. “ _ Our _ story.”

“Oh. Our story.” The words make Alex’s tongue feel heavy and she’s not quite sure why.

“I think we can keep how we met the same,” Kelley says, ticking it off on her fingers.

Alex hums in agreement as she takes her seatbelt off. “What else?”

“We started dating,” Kelley trails off.

“Sophomore year!” Alex says excitedly. “The beach story, when we were at the cabin.”

“Ooh, romantic.” Kelley nods in approval. “Okay, who asked who out?”

“You asked me out, duh.”

“Duh,” Kelley agrees. “So we’ve been together, what, a year and a couple months? Yeah What did we do for our anniversary?”

Alex purses her lips in thought. “Well that was the weekend that we got kicked out of playoffs, right?”

Kelley nods.

“I would’ve wanted a lowkey night--”

“And  _ I _ would have insisted that lowkey nights are lame,” Kelley cuts in. 

“Right,” Alex nods. “So,--”

“I’d take you back to where I asked you out! The cabin, do the whole weekend again. Let us get away and mellow out for a bit.” 

“Wow,” Alex says, almost breathless at the thought of it.

“I’d be such a good girlfriend.”

“I know--” 

Kelley cuts her off by leaning across the center console and giving her a quick kiss. “Okay, let’s go inside. We’re gonna need lots of practice if we’ll convince your grandparents.”

Alex finds herself stunned, still feeling the ghost of Kelley’s lips against her own. Luckily she can take a few extra seconds because Kelley walks around the car to open the passenger door for her. 

“Come on beautiful, we’ve gotta get back on the road.”

Alex smiles as Kelley closes the door and wraps an arm around her waist. “You’re really going all-in, huh?”

“Did you expect anything less?”

Alex doesn’t have time to respond because before she knows it, Kelley is ordering both of their drinks and pulling out her wallet. “I can pay for my own,” Alex says, reaching for her purse.

“Please, babe,” Kelley rolls her eyes playfully and looks back at the barista. “We’ve been together for more than a  _ year  _ now and she is  _ still _ surprised when I pay for her.”

Alex smiles and elbows Kelley playfully. “Fine, but I’m paying next time.”

“I will make sure to order the most expensive thing on the menu,” Kelley promises, leaning closer to kiss Alex’s cheek. 

“You guys are so cute,” the barista says, smiling. 

“Don’t we know it.” Kelley grins, leading Alex over to the other side of the counter to wait for their drinks.

“You’re really good at this,” Alex says once they’re out of earshot.

“I’m really good at what?”

“Being my girlfriend.”

Kelley laughs and wraps her arm around Alex’s waist, pulling her closer. “Maybe you should keep me around then, Lex.”

“Maybe I will.”

Kelley laughs again as their drinks are brought over. “Alright love, let’s get back on the road. If we take too long it’ll be  _ four _ days before we get to Seattle instead of three.”

Alex leans into Kelley’s chest as she guides them out of the coffee shop and briefly wonders if four days on the road with Kelley wouldn’t be too bad after all.

  
  


\---

 

“Will you buy me lunch?” Alex asks, more of a whine than an actual sentence. “I am  _ starving _ and the hotel is still two hours away.”

“It’s still two hours away because we’ve only been on the road for two hours,” Kelley says, turning to smile at Alex. “You sure you can’t hold out?”

“Positive.” Alex slumps in the seat and lets her head fall so she’s looking out the window. “We could stop there.” She points at one of the signs they pass for the next exit. “Or there, or there, or  _ any  _ of these places.”

Kelley just rolls her eyes. “Pull up something on your phone and we’ll stop there, okay?”

“Yay!” Alex leans over the center console to kiss Kelley’s cheek, which would be completely normal even if they  _ weren’t _ pretending to date.

“Yeah, yeah.” Kelley glances over to see that Alex is looking for a Chick-Fil-A and smiles. “You don’t have to choose my favorite fast food place, you know.”

“I know.” Alex shrugs and reaches out for Kelley’s hand. “Thought maybe I could sweet-talk you into paying for it and being all smooth again, and it would help if I had the bribe of choosing your favorite place.”

“I don’t think it would take much sweet-talking to get me to do anything you want,” Kelley admits. “Even without the bribe of waffle fries.”

“Really?” Alex squeezes Kelley’s fingers and Kelley just grins her signature, flashy grin that exudes entirely too much confidence for how she feels, with Alex’s hand in her own.

“Really, Al.”

  
  


\---

 

They opt to go through the drive-thru because Kelley is a stickler for sticking to their schedule. 

“I want to check into the hotel by four at the latest so we have time to find somewhere to pick up snacks for tomorrow and get dinner without feeling rushed.”

“Kell, that means breaking your  _ no eating in the car no matter what _ rule.”

“That rule only exists for you, Al. Everyone else eats in my car.”

“What?” Alex turns in her seat to look at Kelley so quickly that her chest hurts from the seatbelt.

“One sec, love,” Kelley says sweetly before ordering their food. She carefully avoids Alex’s glare until she makes sure they have all their food and start back on the highway. “Now what were you saying?”

“ _ Why _ am I the only one that isn’t allowed to eat in your car?”

“Well,” Kelley tosses a fry in her mouth and eats it before continuing, with Alex looking on impatiently. “Remember  _ The Smoothie Incident _ of Freshman Year?”

Alex uncrosses her arms. “What about it?”

“I told you to wait to drink it till we got to the dorm and you insisted it would be fine?”

Alex sinks in on herself.

“And you spilled it all over my backseat?”

“Because you went over that speed bump!” Alex practically yells, throwing her arms up in the air. 

“Lex, you remember that Grace was in the car too?”

“Sure,” Alex shrugs, already rolling her eyes.

“And that she swore there was no speed bump?”

“There  _ was _ .”

Kelley has a hard time keeping herself from smiling as Alex just gets more frustrated. “Well, there wasn’t, and everyone that has ever driven on that road agrees with me.”

“Well they’re all lying.”

“Anyway, moral of the story is that no matter how much both you and I scrubbed that backseat, my car never recovered from your smoothie. So at the end of that year when I got a new car, I made my  _ no food _ rule, but everyone except  _ you _ knew that it only applied to you.”

Alex crosses her arms again, turning to face out the window.

“Oh come on, Al. I’m ending the rule right now, here,” she holds out a few waffle fries. “Eat something. I thought you were  _ so _ starving.”

“I can’t believe my best friend has been  _ lying _ to me for two years,” Alex says, taking the fries reluctantly.

“Closer to three, actually.” Kelley glances over to Alex just for Alex to stare daggers at her. “Okay, okay, I’m really sorry, Lex. No more rule, okay? Eat all you want.”

“Can I have half your fries?”

“Will it make you less mad at me?”

“Yes.”

Kelley smiles and holds out what’s left in her cardboard container. “Have at it.”

 

\---

 

They find an restaurant just down the road from their hotel and ask to be seated at the bar because it happens to be showing the NWSL game and Kelley insisted because “Come on Al, my team is playing!”

“Why do you even like the Courage?” Alex asks, sipping on her water as she looks over the menu.

“No finish line, junkyard dogs,” Kelley shrugs. “I like the hashtags they always use. Plus they win a lot, so they’re easy to like.”

Alex rolls her eyes. “Oh, look,” she points to the television. “You see 21 in the midfield for the Dash?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s Taylor Comeau, we knew her.”

“We did?” Kelley looks down at her menu and starts scanning the options. “When?”

“She graduated our sophomore year, you remember her. She was on the soccer team.”

“Oh, was she?” Kelley asks, looking up at Alex. “Gee thanks, I thought she was our first baseman. Or maybe on the basketball team.”

“Shut up.” Alex rolls her eyes. “It’s just cool that someone we know is a professional athlete.”

“You’re right,” Kelley agrees. “Too bad my team is totally gonna kick her team’s ass.”

“You’re not even from North Carolina.”

“No, but I have been to Raleigh. It’s a cool place.”

“I thought the Courage played in Cary?”

Kelley nods. “Cary, Raleigh, same thing. That’s why they call it the triangle.”

“Isn’t a triangle three?”

Kelley laughs and smiles wide as she glances over to Alex. “And Durham,” she explains as she tosses a few pretzels that the bartender set out for them into her mouth. “That’s why it’s the Raleigh-Durham airport.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Alex says, scrunching up her nose. 

Kelley just rolls her eyes good-naturedly. “You’re cute when you’re bossy.”

“You’re cute when you listen,” Alex says without skipping a beat, and Kelley’s eyebrows shoot up. 

“Feisty, Al, I like it. Please,” she pauses to toss a few more pretzels in her mouth. “Do more, it’s hot.”

Alex winks as the bartender starts to walk over. “Maybe when we get back to the hotel tonight.”

Kelley finds herself debating over whether she’s pleasantly surprised or very, very worried about how turned on she is. She smiles at Alex easily as the bartender takes their orders and she decides that it doesn’t matter because she might actually like Alex and no matter what, that can’t be a good thing.

“Is all of this knowledge just from the time we played Duke?”

“No,” Kelley shakes her head and smiles because  _ wow when did Alex get so cute? _ “I’m talking about when UNC was scouting me. I checked out the area, it’s really cool. They have an awesome science museum.”

“Sounds interesting.”

“Yeah, it’s actually one of the areas I’m thinking of moving to after I graduate.”

“Oh,” Alex pauses, looking down at her menu. “I kind of thought we would just stay in California together forever.”

Kelley shrugs. “I don’t know, Al. But you could always marry me and then we could both move to Raleigh.”

Alex smiles because she can’t quite tell if Kelley is saying that to keep up their fake dating act or if it’s just her usual best friend joking. (There’s no one within earshot of them, which they both know, but Alex doesn’t bother mentioning it.) “I guess that’s always an option.”

 

\---

 

As soon as they get back to the hotel, Alex finds herself not wanting the day to end. “Do you wanna hit the pool, Kell?” (Which she  _ doesn’t  _ ask because there would be people at the pool, that would be ridiculous.)

“We should sleep so we can get on the road early tomorrow,” Kelley says, fighting through a yawn. “We don’t wanna hit traffic trying to get to Eugene or whatever town you booked our hotel in.”

“It’s only like four hours of driving,” Alex argues with an eyeroll. 

“Yeah, four hours because you can’t stand being in a car any longer than that.”

Alex sighs. “Please can we go to the pool? If I had known you were going to go straight to sleep I wouldn’t have packed that bikini you like so much.”

Kelley laughs as she starts to dig through her suitcase. “Doesn’t the hotel in Seattle have a pool? I’d love to see it there.”

“Please, Kell?”

Kelley looks up and thinks for a moment before she finally sighs. “Okay Al, but only because you’ll look so cute and we need more couple-practice.”

“Yay!” Alex leans in to kiss Kelley’s cheek and smiles. “You’re the best.” (Alex doesn’t mention that the  _ couple-practice _ was really the only reason she wanted to go.)

(Kelley doesn’t mention that she really, really likes couple-practice.)

 

\---

 

“If one more guy hits on you I swear my head’s gonna explode,” Kelley deadpans as she starts to dry off her hair. “I mean, I  _ get it _ , you’re  _ totally smoking hot _ .” She rolls her eyes as she and Alex sit down. “Can’t they tell you have a girlfriend?”

“Maybe you should be more obvious about it,” Alex suggests, and totally-not because she would  _ love  _ for Kelley to be possessive over her.

“Maybe I will.” Kelley puts her sunglasses on and reaches a hand across to rest on Alex’s leg. “I’m gonna try to nap.”

“Do you want to go up to the room?”

“Nah. I like hanging out down here, with you.” She squeezes Alex’s thigh lightly for emphasis. “I do like the bikini, by the way.”

“I know.” Alex smiles smugly as she opens her book. 

They sit in silence, except for background noise of the pool area, until Kelley wakes up from her fifteen-minute nap.

“Hey, how soon do you wanna go up to the room?” Kelley asks as she struggles through a yawn.

“The pool closes in about twenty minutes,” Alex says after her checking her phone. “But we can head up now if you want.”

“That might be a good idea, Lex. If I fall asleep in this chair again my back will  _ not _ forgive me for it.”

Alex laughs as she helps pull Kelley up and off of the chair. “Okay, sleepyhead. Let’s get you up to the room.” She wraps an arm around Kelley’s waist as they make their way to the elevator and Kelley is in her pajamas just minutes after they make it to the hotel room.

“Night Lex,” Kelley mumbles as she flops on the still-made bed.

“You’re so boring. You know it’s barely 6:30, right?”

“I don’t see you giving me a better reason to use this bed,” Kelley says as she looks up to Alex with a sleepy smile. 

Alex sits down next to Kelley and brushes some of the hair from her face. “I can tell you’re sleepy because you are usually  _ much _ more smooth than that,” she teases and Kelley laughs, turning to bury her face in Alex’s thigh.

“This has been a fun trip so far,” Kelley says, doing her best to not sound as tired as she is. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Kell,” Alex says with a smile. She tries to ignore the way Kelley’s lips on her skin feels as she strokes her hair. She thinks about Kelley this morning, leaning across the center console of her car and kissing her before they went into Starbucks. If she focuses hard enough, she can still taste the mint of Kelley’s toothpaste and the honey of her chapstick. “Kell?” She says, trying to drag herself out of her own thoughts, but Kelley is already fast asleep. 

Alex just smiles and carefully gets off of the bed so as not to wake Kelley. She pulls her laptop and a pair of headphones out of her bag and turns on the last 15 minutes of the NWSL game. She sits next to Kelley, stroking Kelley’s hair again and rooting for North Carolina just because she knows Kelley would. 

After the game ends, she puts up her laptop and gets ready to sleep. She lies next to Kelley and whispers “they won, you’d be proud,” even though Kelley can’t hear her. She’d be lying if she said the smile on her face wasn’t at least partially because North Carolina won their game (because she knows it would make Kelley happy). She’d be lying if she said her heart didn’t flutter when Kelley reached out and pulled her closer.

She’d be lying if she said it felt anything but perfect to fall asleep next to Kelley.

 

\---

 

“G _ oooood _ morning beautiful!” Kelley says, entirely too loud and cheerful for Alex to handle at 7:45 am. 

“No,” Alex mumbles, turning to bury her face in the pillow.

“Yep.” Kelley pulls the blanket off of Alex and starts tapping her shoulder insistently. “Come on, they’ve got free breakfast in the lobby.”

Alex leans up and peels one eye open to look at Kelley. “Waffles?”

“Waffles,” Kelley says with a nod and a smile, knowing that Alex is as good as awake by now. 

“Will you make them for me?”

“Well of course.”

Alex sighs but rolls out of bed and right into Kelley’s arms. “Can you just hold me?” She whispers, turning her face into Kelley’s neck. 

Kelley laughs loudly, unabashedly, and Alex doesn’t have to see it to know that her head is thrown back in the air. “We’ve got waffles to eat, Lex. Put something cute on and let’s go.”

“I haven’t even brushed my teeth.” Alex starts walks over to her suitcase to find clothes for the day. “And why are you so awake this morning?”

“I’m excited for another four hours on the road with you.”

“That can’t be right.”

Kelley laughs easily. “You know me too well. I’ve had three cups of coffee already.”

“Of course you have.” Alex tugs on a pair of sweatpants and runs her hand through her hair before turning back to Kelley. “Okay, you owe me some waffles.”

“That I do, pretty lady.”

 

\---

 

“Do you want to know the real reason I’ve had so much energy this morning?” Kelley asks, grinning as soon as Alex has finished off her third waffle.

Alex raises an eyebrow as she drags her fork through the syrup. “Why?”

“It’s your turn to drive.” Kelley holds out the keys and Alex just slumps in her chair.

“Can I drive tomorrow instead?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Can I tempt you with anything to get you to drive instead?”

Kelley thinks to herself for a moment but shakes her head. “Nope. Now come on, let’s go pack up your stuff and get on the road.”

“I don’t wanna,” Alex whines but Kelley just rolls her eyes and puts their plates away.  

“Come on, Al.”                                                                                                                                                                                                          

“Fine. But you better not play any crappy songs.”

“Alex,” Kelley raises her hand to her chest with feigned offense. “I have never played a crappy song in my  _ life _ .”

 

\---

 

“I can’t believe you booked our hotel in  _ Weed _ , California,” Kelley says as she watches the  _ Now leaving Weed, California _ sign blur behind them.

“I can’t believe you’re this much of a child about it.”

“I can’t believe we didn’t even get  _ high _ .”

“You’ve never gotten high in your life.”

“Not true,” Kelley argues, crossing her arms. 

“The brownie you ate on accident doesn’t count.”

“I was  _ high _ , wasn’t I?” Kelley glances over to Alex, whose eyes are trained on the road. “You’ve never gotten high either.”

“Well I’ve never wanted to, we get drug tested too often and the risk isn’t worth it.”

“The season’s over, Al.”

“Oh, right.” Alex goes quiet for a moment and the song dies down, leaving the only sound in the car the blinker as she changes lanes. The next song starts up but the silence has already been felt by both of them. “Weird to think we’ll never play softball again,” Alex says slowly, quietly and the weight of the words is clear in the tone of her voice.

“We’ll play again,” Kelley says quickly. 

“Together?” Alex asks, stealing a glance to Kelley and they both go silent for moment, save for the sound of the song playing quietly in the background. 

“We’ll play again,” Kelley repeats, a little more sure of herself this time. “I know we will. Just trust me, Lex.”

Alex nods slowly and smiles. “Okay.” She reaches out for Kelley’s hand to squeeze her fingers and soon enough they’re both smiling. “I trust you.”

 

\---

 

They spend a lot of the drive to Eugene, Oregon in silence. Which leaves Kelley to do far too much thinking.

Thinking about Ann, thinking about what Ann said, thinking about what every girlfriend of hers has said over the past three and a half years. Since she met Alex.

And she thinks about Alex, too. Alex, who has decided to embrace her brown hair and stop dying it back to blonde every time her roots start to show. Alex, who laughs at all her jokes and never fails to make Kelley smile. Alex, whose touch makes Kelley feel electric and whose voice makes Kelley feel at peace. 

Alex, her best friend. (Alex, who she might kind of love.)

Kelley thinks about what Ann said.  _ You always have to control every little thing. _

She thinks about what nearly every other girlfriend she’s had has said.  _ You’re just incapable of commitment, aren’t you? _ or  _ I don’t think you could ever love anyone but yourself.  _ or  _ When will girls learn that they can’t date Kelley O’Hara, and end up anything but heartbroken? _

Kelley glances over to Alex, who’s humming to herself without a care in the world. She  _ wants _ to think about the  _ Alex  _ of it all. How there has to be a  _ reason _ why she can’t be happy, why she can’t be okay, why she can’t love. (Why she can’t love  _ anyone else _ .)

She forcibly shakes her head, because she just can’t bring herself to admit it. There has to be a reason, but the only constants in her life have been softball and Alex.

And the reason can’t be Alex, can it?

 

\---

 

“If you buy lunch I’ll drive the rest of the way,” Alex offers as she pulls into a parking spot. 

“Nice try, babe,” Kelley says with a wink and a smile. (She ignores how the word  _ babe _ makes her heart flutter, because it’s not even  _ weird  _ for her to call Alex that, especially not since they’re fake dating, or, whatever it is.) “You have to drive all the way today, whether I buy you lunch or not.”

Alex walks around the car and leans into Kelley as they go into the restaurant. “Fine. But you’re still buying lunch.”

“Sure, Al.”

 

\---

 

When the check comes, Kelley grabs it and grins at Alex. “So what do you have to offer if I pay?”

“A kiss,” Alex says without missing a beat, because the waitress is still next to the table and from the handful of times she’s kissed Kelley, none of them have been bad. (Once at an away game freshman year, because they were playing spin the bottle, because what else do you do with a softball team full of lesbians and bi girls? Once because Kelley was drunk, very drunk, and Alex was taking her back to their apartment, and when she tucked Kelley in for the night she tried to kiss her forehead and Kelley, too drunk to remember any of this Kelley, said  _ come on, that’s not a kiss, this is a kiss _ , and pulled her in for a real one. And once, at the beginning of this trip, right before they got out of the car at Starbucks.)

“Deal.” Kelley nods and notches her credit card in the book before handing it back to the waitress. She ignores the voice in her head that tells her  _ you’re playing with fire, this is your best friend, you cannot fall in love with your best friend _ . (There’s a quieter one, that says  _ maybe you already have _ , and she does her best to ignore that one, too.)

The check comes back and Kelley leaves a hefty tip, in cash, and winks as she and Alex rise from the booth. “About that kiss?” She asks, and Alex just laughs.

Alex reaches for the open flaps of Kelley’s  _ UC Berkeley Softball  _ jacket and pulls her in for a deep kiss. Kelley tastes like the salt left on her lips from the french fries and Alex kind of loves it. 

Kelley takes it in, slowly, as Alex kisses her. She feels as if she’s trying to commit the feeling of Alex’s lips on her own to her memory forever, she feels like it means something, she feels like this is way, way more important than it is. Alex’s lips are cold from her chocolate shake but the feeling just makes Kelley warm, warmer than she’s ever felt.

Kelley thinks that very well may be the best kiss of her life.

When Alex finally pulls away, it feels a bit like they’re both coming up for air, but Kelley doesn’t really want to. She would sooner drown in the taste of Alex’s lips than breather for another second if it meant she got to keep kissing Alex. (Kelley dismisses that thought, like she dismisses the voices in her head.) (Alex pretends she doesn’t feel the same way.)

 

\---

 

Kelley checks them into their room while Alex parks the car, except Alex doesn’t park the car, Alex goes to the store. 

And Kelley, well, takes a nap because she is exhausted and can’t stand to think about anything for another moment. 

 

\---

 

“Knock knock,” Alex says, bumping the door with her shoulder. “Kell,” she says, a little louder, but still no answer. “Kell _ eyyy _ ,” she draws out the name, louder still, but there’s nothing on the other side. 

Alex adjusts the bags she’s holding so she can have a free hand and starts knocking insistently. “Kelley, Kelley, Kelley, Kelley, Kelley, Kelley, Kelley, Kelley, Kelley, Kelley, Kelley, Kelley,” she calls, knocking on the door with each repeat of Kelley’s name. 

“Yeah?” Kelley finally opens the door, rubbing at one of her eyes and squinting at the light the hallway brings into the room. 

“You know I didn’t have a key.” Alex shoves her way past and drops the bags on the bed before turning to face Kelley. “What were you even doing?”

“Napping,” Kelley says plainly as she lets the door fall shut. “What is all this?”

“You sleep entirely too much.”

Kelley just rolls her eyes. “What are the bags for?”

“This is Chinese food, this is miscellaneous junk food, this is sodas, and  _ this _ ,” she holds up a slip of paper. “Is the directions for how to get to Netflix on the tv.” 

“Very intriguing,” Kelley says with a slow nod. “But, why?”

“Well the chinese food is for dinner, because chinese food is the best, the junk food is for snacking during the movie, the sodas are for drinking,  _ obviously _ , and the Netflix is so we can watch a cute movie.”

“And what movie did you have in mind?”

“ _ To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before _ , didn’t you say it’s good?”

“I said that Erin said it’s good, but it’s not always best to trust her opinion.” Kelley carefully sits cross-legged on the bed next to Alex, so as not to disturb the chinese food spread she’s setting out. 

“It’ll be great.” Alex licks some sauce from the orange chicken off of her fingers before reaching for the remote from the bedside table. “Here, put it on.”

 

\---

 

It only takes about five minutes before Kelley realizes that this is a movie where two people who are pretending to date, fall in love.

Which is  _ fine _ , really. Absolutely fine. It doesn’t even matter. 

Which is what Kelley tells herself. And it’s  _ true, _ until about halfway through the movie, when Alex says, “Are you the Peter Kavinsky to my Lara-Jean Covey?”

Kelley laughs a bit too hard and the bag of microwave popcorn she and Alex were sharing falls into her lap. “Of course,” she says quickly, wiping at her buttery mouth with a buttery hand that only makes it worse. “Of course I am. Unless he fucks up, then no, I’m definitely not.”

Alex smiles and leans her head back onto Kelley’s shoulder. “Oh good,” she says simply, as if she’s tucking that information away for later.

 

\---

 

By the time the movie ends Kelley is practically asleep, but Alex reaches out to shake her shoulder anyway. “Hey, Kell?”

“Hm?” Kelley squeezes her eyes shut before opening them, blinking in Alex’s direction. 

“Do you wanna talk about what happened with Ann?”

Kelley blinks again slowly, as if she’s processing the words, before finally saying “it’s not even a big deal.”

“Why were you breaking up with her again?” Alex asks and the look in her eyes is genuine, so Kelley complies.

“It just didn’t feel right anymore.” Kelley shrugs and leans up off of the headboard. “Also technically, she broke up with me.”

“What?”

“Yeah, she totally beat me to it.” Kelley pauses to laugh, because really, it  _ is _ funny. “Kind of weird, huh?”

“Hey, Kell?”

“Hm?”

“How come you never stay with girls very long?” 

Kelley’s mouth goes dry and she tries to think of an answer than  _ you, probably _ . “I guess I just haven’t dated the right girl yet.”

“Hey, Kell?”

“Hm?” 

Alex wants to ask who the right girl is. If she’s brown-haired with blue eyes and a killer double-play at second. (And sitting right in front of her.) But she doesn’t. “Are you gonna finish that?” She points to the half-eaten chocolate bar clutched in Kelley’s right hand.

Kelley just laughs and throws her head back in the air. (Alex’s favorite laugh.) “Have at it, Lex.” She hands it over before standing up from the bed and stretching. “Hey, I’m gonna shower, cool?”

“Perfect. Let me brush my teeth first so I can try and get some sleep.”

Kelley nods as she starts digging through her suitcase for a pair of sweats to sleep in and feels some tension ease out of her shoulders once she finally can escape to the bathroom. 

She takes a long shower, hopefully long enough to avoid any more questions, and when she finally gets out, Alex is already asleep. She brushes her teeth as quietly as she can before crawling into bed next to Alex, leaving a few extra inches of space between them on purpose.

Alex pretends like she’s asleep, and she pretends she doesn’t notice that her back is cold without Kelley pressing against it.

 

\---

 

“On the road ag _ ainnn _ ,” Kelley sings, as loudly and as obnoxiously as she can, leaning over to bump her shoulder against Alex’s. 

“You swerve when you do that,” Alex points out with a warning tone. “You need to drive more carefully.”

Kelley just rolls her eyes and her grin grows wider. “Just can’t  _ waittt _ to get on the road  _ againnn _ .” 

“Stop singing this god-forsaken song.”

“It’s a road trip classic, Al,” Kelley says with a shake of her head and a  _ tut-tut  _ of disapproval. 

“I’m changing the song.”

“You are  _ not _ ,” Kelley challenges, sneaking a warning-glance over to Alex as she waits to merge onto the highway. “I told you that I would only drive the first few hours today if I got to pick the first song, and this is my pick.”

“But  _ Kelleyyy _ ,” Alex whines, slumping in her seat. “This song is so stupid.”

“This song is a  _ classic _ .” Kelley’s grin returns in full force and she leans to bump shoulders with Alex again. “Restart it, you talked through the best part.”

Alex starts to protest but stays quiet and restarts the song anyway, because all she can think to say is something about how much she wants to kiss that stupid grin off of Kelley’s face.

 

\---

 

“You know, you’re  _ such _ a good driver,” Alex says as they walk hand in hand to the diner she picked for lunch.

“I know I am.” 

“So maybe you should just drive the rest of the way into Seattle?” Alex bats her eyelashes and squeezes Kelley’s hand as they wait a moment for the hostess. “Pretty please?”

Kelley feels her heart melt at the sight and for a moment, she almost says yes. “Nice try,  _ babe _ ,” she says, adding a certain weight to the word. 

The hostess is approaching just at that moment and Alex knows that the  _ babe _ is for added effect, just part of their couple practice that Kelley has insisted on, but it makes her flustered anyway. “I just, I, uhm--”

Kelley laughs, a soft, sweet laugh. The rare kind that’s directed at Alex and is only  _ for _ Alex. “Table for two, please, ma’am,” Kelley says with her brightest smile and a little bit of a southern twang on the  _ ma’am _ as she turns to the hostess.

“Right this way,” the hostess says, with a much heavier southern accent than Kelley’s, and Alex follows them to the table, Kelley’s hand still securely in their own.

“How do southern people even  _ get _ to the northwest?”

“I got here,” Kelley says with a shrug. 

“Well you’re just passing through.”

“But I’ve lived in California for almost four years.”

Alex nods slowly in agreement. “Are you going to move back to the south?”

“I don’t know, Lex.”

“Why haven’t we talked about our after-graduation plans?” Alex still has Kelley’s hand, reached out across the table so she can trace meaningless patterns into the back of it.

“What are your plans?”

Alex frowns. “I don’t know,” she admits, eyes fully focused on Kelley’s hand in front of her. 

“Well you applied to a bunch of medical schools, have you heard back any acceptances yet?”

“I got the envelopes but I haven’t read them.”

“What?” Kelley drops her jaw in disbelief as Alex looks up. “Al, you’ve gotta open those bad boys. I’ve gotta know what schools my girl got into!”

Alex ignores the way her heart flutters when Kelley says  _ my girl _ . 

“Did you at least bring them with you?”

“Would it be totally lame if I did?” 

Kelley shakes her head and moves her hand to hold Alex’s. “Not at all, Lex,” she says softly. “As soon as we get out to the car we’re reading those letters.”

“But what if I didn’t get into any?”

Kelley squeezes Alex’s fingers comfortingly. “As if. I  _ know _ you got in. What’s your top choice?”

Alex frowns again. “I don’t know, honestly. I don’t know where I want to go.”

Kelley nods understandingly and squeezes Alex’s fingers again before resting her hand on the table. “Well, the offer to marry me and follow me to Raleigh still stands.”

“Do you know you’re going to Raleigh for sure?”

Kelley shrugs and pulls her hand away as the waitress walks up. They place their orders and as soon as they’re alone again Alex is staring at her.

“Well?” She asks, a bit impatiently. “Are you definitely leaving California?”

Kelley looks down at her hands before answering. “I’ve been talking with the board of directors for the State Science Museum in Raleigh. They’re looking for someone to head their new branch of conservation efforts. It’s a job dedicated to the oversight of the expansion they’re doing into conservation. It’ll be a whole new sub-section with exhibits to teach about the environment but it’ll also run a community outreach program to encourage schools and local businesses to be more environmentally conscious.” Kelley can’t help the way she gets more excited with each word, and Alex can’t help the way she feels more crushed.

“And they want you?”

Kelley nods as she finally looks back up at Alex. 

“You would hate that. You would hate oversight. You like hands-on stuff.”

“That’s what’s perfect about it, actually. There’s two positions, so I would be working alongside someone and the added support from the co-manager of the branch would be enough to allow us both to do a lot of hands-on stuff and really get involved with the projects. They’re talking to another girl that’s graduating from UNC, and she’s who I would most likely work with.”

Alex closes her eyes for a moment, trying to let it sink in. “That actually sounds like the perfect job for you,” she finally admits.

“It’s my dream job, Al.” Kelley reaches out to squeeze Alex’s fingers. “I’m sorry I’m leaving California.”

“Is it for-sure that you’re leaving?” Alex asks, and she hates how pathetic she sounds. How small.

“Just about,” Kelley says with a sad smile. “But you could always come with me,” she adds quickly. “There’s loads of good medical schools in that area, really. It would be so awesome.”

Alex shakes her head. “Do you really think I got into those schools?”

Kelley smiles easily. “Of course I do, Lex. I think the world of you.” And she  _ does _ . She really, truly, does. 

 

\---

 

“We’re opening these letters; right here, right now.” Kelley unlocks the car with the key fob and opens the trunk. “Which bag are they in, Lex?”

“I’m not telling you.”

“Fine, I’ll just dig through all the bags until I find them.”

“You will not.”

“I will too.” Kelley gives her a serious look. “And you  _ know _ I will.”

Alex sighs and opens up her backpack, pulling out a fistful of envelopes and handing them over to Kelley. “There. All six.”

“Alright, come on Lex.” Kelley herds Alex over to the driver's seat, opening and closing her door for her before going to the other side. Once she gets in the car she smiles at Alex. “Okay, which should we open first?”

“I don’t know.”

“Which one do you want most?”

“Duke or UNC,” Alex says quickly, then pauses. “Because you’ll be there,” she explains with a shrug. “I don’t know where else I’d go.”

Kelley smiles and the tension eases out of her shoulders. (The idea of having to live life without Alex by her side isn’t something she’d like to consider.) “Okay, Lex. We’ll open those last.” 

She looks at the labels and flips through the envelopes, handing some over to Alex. 

“Okay, you open UC San Diego and UC Davis; I’ll take  **UC** and University of Washington.”

“What about UNC and Duke?”

“We’ll open those after, okay?” Kelley reaches out to take Alex’s hand and smiles. “Hey, Al?”

“Yeah?”

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

Alex shakes her head. “No, I want to, I  _ need _ to.”

“Okay. I’m right here for you.”

Alex smiles at those words because something about Kelley being here makes everything easier. “I know you are.”

“Okay, on three. One, two,” the  _ three _ isn’t really heard, cut off by the sound of tearing paper and Alex’s impatient breathing.

“Okay Al, you want to know what they said?”

“I do,” Alex nods quickly, squeezing Kelley’s fingers as she braces for her answer. 

“You got into both.”

“Did I?” Alex asks right away, not relieving the pressure on Kelley’s hand. 

“Of course you did, Lex. I told you that you would.” Kelley smiles proudly and it takes everything she has not to kiss Alex right then and there. “What about the two you opened?”

Alex looks down as if to double check, but she already knows the answer. “I got into both.” She smiles, incapable of helping herself, and reaches across the car to pull Kelley into a crushing hug. “I got into both,” she whispers against Kelley’s hair, a little more quiet and breathless, as if she can’t quite believe it.

“You ready to open the other two?”

Alex freezes for a moment before nodding. “I am.”

Kelley takes the UNC envelope and hands the Duke one over to Alex. “Okay, ready?”

“Ready.”

They tear into the envelopes and Kelley pulls the letter out excitedly until she reads the words  _ We are sorry to inform you _ and she looks down, away from the page. 

“Well?” Alex asks, the top of the envelope torn off of her own but the letter still securely inside.

“You, uhm,” she pauses and sighs. “I’m sorry, Al.”

“Oh.” Alex nods slowly and looks down at the letter in her hands. “That means,” she trails off and sighs.

“Means what, Al?”

“If I didn’t get into Duke, then I can’t follow you to North Carolina.”

Kelley doesn’t say anything, just silently reaches out for the envelope and Alex hands it over. “Do you mind if I read it?” She asks softly, reaching one hand out to rest it on Alex’s thigh. 

“I don’t mind.”

Kelley takes her hand back and removes the envelope, scanning until she sees what she wants to.  _ Congratulations, Alex Morgan. We are pleased to inform you that… _

Kelley feels a smile grow on her face and hands the paper over. “Read that, Lex.”

Alex just crosses her arms. “I can’t.”

“Read it.”

“No.”

“Al,” Kelley sighs and reaches out to tilt Alex’s face towards her. “Trust me. You want to read that.”

Alex finally does as she’s told and looks back up at Kelley. “I,” she pauses and searches Kelley’s face, as if somehow the answers exist within the green of her eyes. “I got into the sports medicine program at Duke.”

Alex is close--  _ entirely  _ too close for Kelley to handle and she can feel Alex’s breath dare to tickle against her lips in this proximity. “You did,” Kelley whispers back, and the moment is almost perfect. 

They’re setting a plan for their futures--  _ their future _ . One future, with both of them in it. 

Kelley needs to kiss Alex. It’s not anything to do with couple practice or a desire she has, she  _ needs _ to kiss Alex. It’s simply a fact of nature. She leans a bit closer, close enough that all it would take is a slight bump of the car and their lips would be touching, and she whispers. “I am so, so proud of you, Lex.”

Alex smiles and she’s about to lean forward because god dammit, she needs to kiss Kelley, too, and there’s a knock on Kelley’s window. 

“Sorry ma’am,” the hostess from before says as soon as Kelley rolls down her window. “But did you leave this?”

It’s a crumpled map from a highway rest-stop that had been in Kelley’s back pocket and must have fallen out while they were in the booth. “Uhm, yeah,” Kelley says as she takes it back. “Thanks for that.”

The hostess leaves as Kelley rolls the window up and Alex can’t help but laugh. 

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing’s funny,” Alex says with a shrug. “It’s just that life is good.”

“So, Duke, huh? With me?”

Alex smiles and glances over to Kelley before driving out of the parking lot. “With you,” she agrees, and something feels so indescribably  _ perfect _ about that statement, that she can’t help but let her smile grow a little wider and feel a little more care-free than she ever has.

 

\---

 

After another hour or so of driving, Alex steals a glance at Kelley and sees her for all of her glory. 

Arms up, face scrunched in absolute delight with a large signature smile, singing at the top of her lungs. Her hair is flowing behind her in the wind as she screams the words to the latest song on their  _ Besties Road Trip _ playlist. 

_ But if I told you I loved you, would it make you want to stay? _

_ I'm sorry for the way I hurt you and making you walk away. _

_ And if I wrote you a love song and sang it to you every day, would it ever be enough to make you wanna come back home and stay? _

The words don’t mean anything at face value. Kelley’s never hurt Alex, she never would. Alex doesn’t even  _ know _ the song, it’s some dumb country song that Kelley added to the playlist,  _ totally _ breaking her promise of  _ I won’t drown you in country music on the drive, I’ll only add the best songs, _ but it’s okay. Alex doesn’t mind too much, not when it makes Kelley this happy.

The words don’t mean anything, but they resonate with Alex anyway. 

Sitting here, driving down the freeway without a care for the world, Alex realizes two things. 

The first thing is that when it comes to her best friend, nothing can ever be taken at face value; whether she’s stepping up to the plate for a hit or hustling some poor frat guy in pool or talking about her feelings. You always have to dig deeper and look past her eyes to know the truth, and Alex is pretty sure she’s the only one who can read Kelley like that. 

The second thing is that she is completely, irreversibly in love with Kelley O’Hara. 

 

\---

 

They’re about one hour away from their hotel in Seattle when it starts pouring. And not just raining,  _ pouring.  _ Pouring so badly that Alex flicks her blinker on and starts to pull off to the side of the road.

“Lex, what are you doing?” Kelley asks, looking up from her phone as the car slows. 

“It’s really stressing me out, I can’t drive in this.”

“Just keep driving, Lex. It’ll be alright,” Kelley promises, but Alex just shakes her head defiantly. 

“I’m pulling over and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

“We’re only,” Kelley reaches out to check the directions on Alex’s phone. “An hour away from the hotel. We can totally make it.” 

“Well, you can walk,” Alex says, shifting the car into park and crossing her arms. “I’m not driving and I’m not letting you drive in rain this bad, either. It’s too dangerous.” 

“Al--”

“No, Kelley. We’ll wait it out.”

 

\---

 

So they sit there for ten minutes.

“Let’s at least play a game or something.” Kelley opens up the  _ Heads Up _ app on her phone and puts it on her forehead. “Okay, ready?”

“Born ready,” Alex says with an affirmative nod.

“Okay, foods, go!”

_ Fried Chicken _

“Uhm, my mom made this the first time you came over because she was convinced it would make you feel  _ at touch with your southern roots _ .”

“Fried Chicken!”

“Yes!”

_ Gummy Worms _

“You buy a bag for me every Thursday on your way home from work.”

“Gummy worms, duh.”

Alex smiles fondly and nods.

_ Pizza _

“You threw this up on me before our first game freshman year even though I  _ told _ you not to eat it because you’d get nervous and get sick.”

“Pizza! Still sorry about that, by the way.”

Alex just rolls her eyes. “Next.”

_ Tacos _

“Oh! You threw this up on me  _ after _ we won the championship sophomore year!”

“Tacos!” Kelley pulls a face and smiles apologetically. “Still sorry about that, too.”

“It’s still not okay,” Alex says with a smile that betrays her words.

_ Chocolate Chip Cookies _

“Your mom made you bring some to me for Christmas this year because I off-handedly mentioned how good they were when I visited for Thanksgiving while we were on the phone.”

Kelley laughs and smiles proudly. “Chocolate chip cookies!”

“Okay, time,” Alex says with a grin. They lean into each other to look over the results and their heads rest against each other.

“We’re  _ too  _ good.” Kelley smiles and turns to look at Alex. “I don’t necessarily think that’s a problem, though.”

“We just know each other too well,” Alex agrees. “But I wouldn’t change that for the world. 

“Me either.”

 

\---

 

They sit in the car for twenty minutes.

Kelley taps on Alex’s shoulder with no response. So she does it again. And again. And again. 

And again. 

“What the hell do you want Kelley?”

“What are you reading?”

“Some book I promised my sister I would read before the wedding. But I lied, because I’m a liar.”

Kelley hums in agreement. “Sounds like you. Hey, can we start driving now? The rain lightened up a bit.” 

Alex looks up and out the windshield but before she can say anything there’s a loud crack of thunder and any visibility they had is gone from the new downpouring of rain. 

“Well, it  _ was _ lightening up.”

“We’ll wait it out, Kell.”

“We’ve been waiting for, like, fifteen years.”

“I think that’s a tad dramatic.”

“I think you’re right.” Kelley huffs and readjusts back in her seat. “I’m gonna take a nap.”

“You do that.” Alex reads for a few moments and then glances over to Kelley, tapping at her lip with her bookmark. “Hey Kell?’

Kelley begins to stir but just turns her head to the other side, facing Alex. She starts snoring softly and for some ungodly reason, Alex feels her heart swell.

Alex smiles as she looks at her best friend, fast asleep and snoring despite how loud the rain is or how uncomfortable that position has to be. She reaches out and brushes some hair from Kelley’s face and Kelley smiles in response. 

_ Wow _ , Alex thinks for a moment.  _ I love you. I really, really love you _ . She shakes her head at herself and sighs, because this isn’t how it happens. 

Two best friends don’t pretend to date, go on a road trip, and fall in love. That’s how it happens in the movies, in the stories, in the fairytales. But not in a real life. 

_ Isn’t that how the best love stories always start? _ Her own words from what feels like a lifetime ago echo in her head.

Kelley adjusts again so she rests her head against Alex’s shoulder and Alex can feel the warmth as Kelley’s cheek presses into the skin of her arm. Alex turns away to face her book, to look at the rain, to do  _ anything _ but let herself think  _ wow, I’m in love with my best friend _ .

Alex can try to distract herself with counting the raindrops that hit the windshield all she wants, but one thing’s for sure. 

She’s in love with her best friend.

 

\---

 

Another twenty minutes go by. 

“I didn’t even know the sky could hold this much water,” is the first thing Kelley says when she wakes up. 

“It’s kind of ridiculous,” Alex agrees, only kind of startled because she hadn’t even realized Kelley woke up. 

“Can we please just drive the rest of the way?” Kelley taps on Alex’s shoulder as she starts batting her eyelashes and pouting. 

Alex glances over to Kelley just to roll her eyes before turning back to her book. “No.”

 

\---

 

Kelley only makes it another fifteen minutes before asking again. 

“Al, it’s getting late.”

“It sure is,” she says, not looking up from her book. 

“Can we please drive to Seattle?” 

“No, Kelley. It’s dangerous to drive in rain this bad.”

“Other people are doing it!” Kelley gestured to Alex’s window and Alex just frowns, unamused. 

“Well they can get into an accident and die, you can’t.”

“Well let’s not wish death on them, Al. That’s a tad harsh.”

Alex just rolls her eyes again. 

Kelley is quiet for a few more minutes, letting Alex read, before saying in a soft voice, “hey, Al?”

“Hm?” Alex looks over to her and lets her book fall shut. (She can’t focus well enough to read when she can feel Kelley’s eyes on her, anyway.) 

“I’m sorry for pushing you to drive. Thanks for looking out for my safety.”

“Of course.” Alex smiles and for a moment she lets herself think about how it’s so  _ easy _ to smile when Kelley’s here. 

“Do you think I could find a hotel in this area? And if it’s not too far, we can drive there and hit the road in the morning.”

“Sure, Kell.” Alex’s smile grows just a but wider. “Pull up the directions and we’ll go.”

 

\---

 

After backtracking about ten minutes, they pull up to a cheap (but not sketchy, because “Kelley, if I see a cockroach in that hotel, we are sleeping in the car.” “ _ We _ ?” “You heard me.”) hotel in Sumner, Washington. 

Kelley checks them in and leads them to the room, opening the door and making a quick sweep for cockroaches before letting Alex in. 

“I’ve never even heard of Summer, Washington.” Alex drops her suitcase to the ground and flops onto the bed. “Do they even  _ have _ summer here? It’s so far north.” 

“It’s not Alaska, Lex. And it’s called Sum _ ner _ , Washington. There’s an n.” Kelley looks for the remote and clicks the tv on, hopping up to Alex on the bed. “This place isn’t too bad, right Lex?”

“Nope.” Alex lies on her stomach to put her feet up in the air as she flips through the hotel’s guide. “They even have continental breakfast.”

“Waffles?”

Alex smiles as she looks up at Kelley, who’s giving her a grin that is entirely too silly to be as endearing as it is. “Waffles.” She nods in agreement and rolls over, so her head is in Kelley’s lap. “Kell?”

“Hm?”

_ You have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen _ . It would be so easy for Alex to say. It wouldn’t even be  _ weird _ , best friends say stuff like that all the time. (Or, at least,  _ these _ best friends do.)

“We almost died in that rain,” Alex finally says, after getting lost in Kelley’s eyes for just a beat too long. 

Kelley smiles and laughs softly, that special laugh, that’s only reserved for Alex. “We did not almost die.” She starts running her hand through Alex’s hair and Alex lets her eyes drift shut. 

“We did almost die,” Alex insists. “What’s our dinner plan?”

“Well, we  _ were _ going to have dinner with your parents, but they’re in Seattle.”

“Bummer,” Alex says plainly, opening her eyes again. “I’d prefer to be with just you, anyway.”

“Yeah?” Kelley looks down at Alex, still running her hand through her hair. 

“Yeah.” Alex just smiles before picking up the guide again. “There’s a restaurant in the lobby.”

“We could go there.” Kelley shrugs. “I don’t care where we go, Lex.”

“Okay, hotel lobby it is.” Alex hops up from the bed and grabs Kelley’s jacket from where it’s sitting on top of her suitcase.

“Are we leaving now?”

Alex hums in agreement as she shrugs the jacket on. 

“What do you even need a jacket for?”

“My shirt is a little wet from the walk in here.”

“You could’ve changed your shirt.”

“Nope,” Alex says, popping the  _ p _ as she reaches for Kelley’s hand. “Now let’s go, I’m starving.”

 

\---

 

Kelley is affectionate at dinner, which Alex  _ loves _ . Kelley’s hand is on her thigh or on the back of her chair, Kelley says  _ you gotta try this, Al _ , and feeds her a bite of her food, Kelley laughs and leans into Alex’s side.

Alex loves it. (Alex loves Kelley.)

So, Alex gets a little brave. 

After the waitress brings Kelley’s card back to her, Alex leans in and seals the deal.

Alex has now kissed Kelley exactly five times, but this most recent is her  _ favorite _ . Kelley’s lips are warm, probably from the coffee she had with dessert, and she starts smiling as soon as Alex kisses her. Kelley’s hand quickly finds the small of Alex’s back and before Alex can process it, her tongue is in Kelley’s mouth. (Which, Alex has got to say, is  _ nice _ .) 

Kelley is  _ definitely  _ kissing her back, almost smiling too much too focus on the kiss itself, and that just makes Alex even happier. 

When they finally pull away, they’re both smiling like idiots, and the moment is perfect.

Until Kelley encouragingly whispers, “that was so good, make sure to kiss me like that at the wedding!”

Alex’s face falls and she nods slowly, as if trying to process if that was what Kelley  _ really _ said, but of course it was, because this isn’t a movie or a story or a fairytale.

On the walk back to their room, Alex has decided to drop it. She has decided that she is  _ not _ in love with her best friend, she is  _ not  _ in love with Kelley. This is fake, it’s all fake, it’s just a show so that at the wedding her grandmother won’t ask  _ when will you settle down with a beautiful young person? _ (Person, because while her grandmother is very supportive of the fact that she’s bisexual, she is still not-so patiently waiting for Alex to get married and have kids.)

So, Alex has decided that she is  _ not _ in love with Kelley O’Hara. Definitely, absolutely, positively, not.

Well, that lasts for just as long as she expects it to, which is to say, the two minutes it takes for them to get to their hotel room. 

As soon as the door falls shut behind them, Alex pushes Kelley up against the door with another kiss. This one is a little more passionate than the others, a little more desperate.

“Lex, I,” Kelley inhales deeply as Alex pulls away. “What is--” Alex kisses her again instead of answering and Kelley just kisses back, not caring to clarify why it’s happening. 

“This isn’t couple practice,” Alex says quickly, mumbled against Kelley’s lips as she kisses her like her life depends on it. (Because the only thought Alex can process besides  _ I’m kissing my best friend _ is  _ she has to know, I have to tell her, I have to let her know that this is real. _ ) 

Kelley doesn’t quite make out what she says, but when Alex starts to navigate them towards the bed and Kelley takes over, moving her hands to Alex’s hips and her lips to Alex’s neck, it’s obvious that she didn’t have to.

 

\---

 

By the time Kelley wakes up the next morning, the hotel room is spotless. Everything they left strewn across the floor has been neatly folded and put back in the suitcases, Kelley’s outfit for the day is at the foot of the bed, and Alex’s empty half of the bed has even been remade the best it could be without waking Kelley up.

None of which is a good sign, because Alex cleans when she’s nervous. Not that Kelley is doing too hot after last night, either.

“Hey, Lex,” Kelley says as she takes a seat next to Alex in the lobby. She points to the untouched waffle in front of her. “Taking advantage of the free breakfast?”

“I feel,” Alex pauses. “I don’t think I can eat. I feel nauseous.”

Kelley nods slowly. “Well that’s alright,” she reassures her. She reaches a hand out ot rest over Alex’s but Alex stiffens at her touch. “Can we, uh, talk?”

“About what?” Alex turns to face her with such a blank expression that for a second, Kelley really believes that she doesn’t remember.

“About, uhm,” Kelley palms the back of her neck and knits her eyebrows together. “Can we just head up to the room, please?”

“Breakfast ends in fifteen minutes,” Alex says as she stands from the table. “Get something to eat and I’ll see you in the room then.” She walks off to the elevator before Kelley has a chance to respond. 

Kelley sighs and picks up Alex’s orange juice but she has to set it down before she can drink any. It smells vaguely like Alex’s floral perfume and the thought of Alex’s perfume brings back a flash from last night.

-

_ “This perfume is my favorite,” Kelley whispered as she kissed the skin underneath Alex’s ear. _

_ “That’s why I wear it,” Alex responded before her breath hitched from Kelley scraping her teeth along her neck. “You told me you liked it a year ago and I’ve worn it every day since.” As Alex said that, she slowly realized it was the truth. She hadn’t even noticed, but she had indeed worn this perfume every day simply because Kelley liked it.  _

_ That seemed just like her, honestly. Over this trip Alex has quickly realized that she does a hell of a lot of things, simply because Kelley would like it.  _

_ Alex let her eyes flutter shut as Kelley switched from her teeth to feather-light kisses across the red spot that was undoubtedly there already. “I like that,” Alex said, breathless, and she felt Kelley smile against her skin.  _

_ “Yeah?” Kelley asked as she pulled away. She lifted a hand from where it was pinning one of Alex’s wrists down and slowly slid it behind Alex’s head. She tilted her head toward her gently and then kissed her, pushing her down into the bed and pushing their lips together and then pushing Alex’s lips apart.  _

_ That’s how it was with Kelley. Pushing, pushing, pushing until she was satisfied. Acting like she always had to be in control. _

_ When Kelley finally pulled away, Alex could still feel the ghost of Kelley’s lips against her own. It was like she had been at the beach with the waves crashing against her for so long that she still felt it that night, except the waves were Kelley and instead of feeling exhausted, it made her feel alive. _

_ Alex reached her now-free hand up until she was gripping the fabric of Kelley’s shirt and she did what she could to tug it up and over her head, Kelley noticing after a moment and leaning up to help her. Alex then reached out to rest her hands on Kelley’s hips and pulled her closer then flipping them over so she was straddling Kelley. She rubbed her thumb along the fabric at the bottom of Kelley’s bra and put her thigh between Kelley’s legs, applying pressure as she leaned down to kiss across the exposed skin along her collarbones. _

_ Kelley felt her eyes roll into the back of her head as she relaxed against the bed. This felt  _ good _ and being with Alex felt  _ good _ and she let out a low moan as Alex pushed into her again. “I--” she started but was cut off with a sharp intake of breath as Alex stopped what she was doing to pull down her shorts.  _

_ “Is this okay?” Alex asked softly as she played with the fabric of Kelley’s waistband.  _

_ “More than okay,” Kelley managed to say and Alex continued what she was doing, not asking for permission as she felt Kelley through her underwear. _

_ “What do you want?” Alex asked softly, but it wasn’t for permission. She wanted Kelley to say it. _

_ “Please,” Kelley said, almost at a whimper as she pushed up into Alex’s hand. “Please fuck me.” _

_ Alex smiled at Kelley, partially because that was exactly what she wanted to hear but mostly with the knowledge that it took Kelley twice the amount of time make her come half as undone. _

-

Kelley shakes her head as she tries to clear the thought from her head but it’s to no avail because all she can hear is Alex’s heavy breathing and her own pleas for more. 

Kelley thinks to what Ann said when they broke up.  _ You always have to be in control of every situation. _ She thinks of how no matter who she’s dated, what team she’s played on, where she was, she had to be in charge.  _ She _ had to dictate the relationship or  _ she _ had to captain the team. She rubs at her temples as she pulls Alex’s uneaten waffle closer to her.  _ Maybe not every situation _ , she thinks to herself.  _ Maybe not if the person is everything I’ve ever wanted.  _

_ Maybe not if it’s Alex.  _

 

\---

 

Kelley finally talks herself into making her way up to their hotel room and stands in front of the door for a moment. She hears a ding from the elevator as the doors slide shut and someone calls it away to another floor, and Kelley sighs.

It’s not that she’s nervous, no. For one, Kelley O’Hara doesn’t  _ get _ nervous. It just doesn’t happen. And for two, well, nothing Alex does could ever make Kelley nervous.

Even this; post-having sex and pre-telling Alex she’s in love with her, doesn’t make her nervous. She’s not nervous about Alex’s reaction, she’s not nervous about losing her best friend (she could never lose Alex, they would always work it out), she’s just numb. 

Numb because she  _ knows _ what happens when she dates girls. They tell her she’s  _ incapable of loving _ and that she’s  _ not the kind of girl people settle down with _ . And Alex deserves that. Someone who can love her, marry her, give her a nice house with their own personal library and two kids. A dog and a cat and whatever else Alex wants. (Kelley would give Alex anything she wants.) Alex deserves someone who will serenade her, who will bring her flowers every day, who will commit everything to her. 

_ Someone who can fall in love with her. _

As Alex’s best friend, Kelley knows better than anyone else what Alex deserves. And Kelley’s never been that person.

Kelley looks up from her feet back to the door and she raises her fist, as if to knock. She pauses just as her knuckles brush against the wood of the door and lets her hand fall. She thinks for a moment, about who she is, about  _ why _ she is who she is, about Alex.

Maybe Kelley could be that person.

If it was for Alex, Kelley could be anyone.

So she reaches for her key card in her back pocket and lets herself into the room, a little more confident than a few moments before. 

_ I can be that person _ .

The door falls shut behind her and she starts talking before she can talk herself out of it. “Alex, wh--”

“Can I talk first, actually?” Alex asks calmly. She’s sitting on the foot of the bed, with one leg crossed over the other and freshly showered hair pulled over her shoulder.

“Yeah, Lex, of course.”

“Last night was,” Alex pauses and looks down at her nails, which, thanks to the nerves of thinking about the night before, are nearly picked clean of the pink nail polish Kelley had gotten for her. She takes a slow breath and glances back up to Kelley. “Amazing,” she finally says, with a sigh of relief. “And I don’t just mean the sex, but,” she cuts herself off with a laugh. “ _ That  _ was good too.” 

Kelley laughs easily as some of the tension seeps out of her shoulders and they both go quiet for a moment, just smiling at each other.

“I don’t want you like a best friend,” Alex finally says, a little more sure of herself than anything else she’s said today. “And I don’t want you like a  _ fake _ girlfriend, either,” she clarifies, looking up at Kelley for a response.

“Sooo,” Kelley trails off and palms the back of her neck. “What are you saying?”

“I think you know what I’m saying.”

Kelley smiles easy, the teasing tone in Alex’s voice betraying the bite in her words. Everything is so easy with Alex. How it should be. She drops to her knees in front of Alex and takes Alex’s hands in her own. She looks up at Alex and squeezes her fingers before saying anything. “Alex Morgan,” she starts slowly, with a certain sense of weight in her words because this is  _ important _ , it might just be the most important question she’s ever asked someone. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

“Kelley O’Hara,” Alex says, struggling to say the words through the smile that won’t leave her face. “Of  _ course _ I will be your girlfriend.”

“That’s so dope,” Kelley says, almost breathlessly, and Alex resists the urge to roll her eyes. “Now kiss me, cutie.”

Alex does as she’s told and kisses Kelley, who tastes like syrup and stale coffee, but the moment is perfect anyway.

It’s perfect because it’s  _ their _ moment.

 

\---

 

“I still think  _ you _ should drive the rest of the way into Seattle. It was your turn,” Kelley says, feigning annoyance as she gets on the freeway. 

“Nope,” Alex says, popping the  _ p _ . “You’re my girlfriend now, so that basically means you do whatever I want.”

Kelley laughs, loudly, and steals a glance to Alex. “Oh, does it now?”

“It does.” 

“I feel like I’ve been doing that ever since we became friends.”

Alex hums as she thinks for a moment. “But now you get girlfriend stuff in return.”

“Girlfriend stuff?”

“You know.” Alex shrugs as she looks down at her nails, which  _ definitely _ need to be repainted before the wedding tonight. “Kisses and cuddles.”

“Technically, I already got cuddles from you.”

“Are you really gonna make me say it?”

“Say what?” Kelley asks innocently. 

“Sex, Kelley. Now I’m going to have sex with you.”

“Is that a threat or a promise?” Kelley teases, leaning to bump her shoulder against Alex’s. 

“It’s a  _ lie _ if you don’t start driving a little safer than that.” Alex points out the windshield to the road in front of them. “You’re gonna get us killed if you don’t stop swerving like that.”

“I’m not swerving.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

Kelley laughs easily and steals a glance at Alex. “Wow, we’ve been dating for less than half an hour and you’ve already promised me sex  _ and _ we’ve argued like an old married couple. We must be on the fast track relationship.”

“We had sex last night, so, I feel like it only makes sense if we keep it up.”

“Already can’t resist me, huh?”

Alex crosses her arms and gives Kelley a pointed look, even though her eyes are trained on the road. “If I remember correctly, only one of us ever  _ begged _ last night.”

Kelley feels her cheeks grow hot and she doesn’t have to look at Alex to know there’s a smug smile plastered over her face. “ _ Anyway _ ,” she says, a bit too insistently. “How are we telling your mom? And your dad, of course, but your mom is the one that scares me.”

“My mom does not scare you,” Alex dismisses. “You love her.”

“Being her daughter’s girlfriend is a lot different than being her best friend.”

Alex just rolls her eyes. “She already knows, actually.”

“How?”

“I told her.”

“Oh, gee, thanks Alex. I thought maybe it was the cross-country baby monitor she has hooked up in your car.” 

“She only lives six hours from us, would it really need to be  _ cross-country _ ?”

“You know what I meant.”

Alex laughs, which makes Kelley laugh, and then their laughter is filling the car because things are just so  _ easy _ when you’re in love with your best friend. “She knows because I told her this morning, when I was waiting for you to finish breakfast.”

“But I hadn’t asked you out yet then.”

“No, but I called my mom to ask her opinion on the situation, and she told me you’re in love with me.”

Kelley just frowns and Alex reaches her hand out for Kelley’s. 

“Don’t frown, baby. It’s not a bad thing.”

“How did she know?”

Alex shrugs. “She said that it’s rare for two people to be as close and as self-sacrificing for each other as we are if we’re not in love.”

“So she knew you were in love with me, too?”

Alex laughs and nods. “She said she’s known that for years, she was just waiting for me to realize it.”

Kelley nods approvingly. “Oh, I have to tell my parents. Do you think it can wait till we’re there for Christmas?” She glances over to Alex who’s already looking at Kelley. 

“Are we going there for Christmas?”

“Well we did your parents for Christmas last year, so I just assumed.” Kelley shrugs. “We can go wherever, though. I’m happy as long as I’m with you.”

Alex smiles and squeezes Kelley’s hand. “So do we need to discuss logistics?”

“Of?”

“Living together.”

Kelley laughs but Alex doesn’t join.

“I’m serious, Kell. Do we need to make sure we take things slowly?”

“We’ve already had sex, we’ve already admitted we’re in love, we’ve already planned our first holiday season together,” Kelley trails off with a shrug. “Not to mention we’ve already planned to follow each other across the country, and that was in,” she pauses to glance to her watch. “Under an hour of dating. I think we’re well past  _ taking it slow _ .”

Alex laughs and shakes her head. “Well, I guess it’s different than a normal relationship. I’ve never dated someone that I loved before the relationship ever started.”

“And we already live together.”

“That too.” Alex sighs. “So what do we do?”

“It’s simple, Al.”

“Okay, then what’s the answer?”

“We wing it.”

“Kelley,” Alex groans. “You know I’m incapable of that.”

“Not  _ really _ wing it,” she clarifies. “We do what feels right. When we get back to campus, we’ll stay sleeping in our separate rooms, but we won’t restrict ourselves from seeing each other. We’ll reassess the room situation when we move.”

“What about everything else?”

“What do you mean  _ everything else _ ?”

“I don’t know.” Alex yawns and pulls Kelley’s arm closer so she can cuddle with it. “Is it okay if I nap? I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Of course, baby. I’ll wake you when we get to Seattle so we can start getting ready.”

“Okay, you’re the best.”

Kelley just smiles easily. “Don’t I know it.”

 

\---

 

“Can you zip up my dress? And hurry, or we’re gonna be late.”

“I know how to zip up a dress in an orderly fashion, Lex, don’t worry.”

Alex pulls away and turns around to face Kelley. “I’m sorry, I’m just frustrated and tired.”

“I know.” Kelley places her hands on Alex’s hips and pulls her in to kiss her nose. “You look amazing, though.”

“Is that an obligatory  _ I’m your girlfriend so I have to say that _ compliment or an  _ I’m your best friend so I mean it _ compliment?”

“Can it be both?” Kelley asks with a hint of a laugh in her eyes as she looks at Alex. “Also, while the heels are gorgeous, I don’t like that it means that I can’t reach to kiss your forehead.”

“You couldn’t reach before.”

Kelley rolls her eyes. “I’m not  _ that _ much shorter than you. I could reach if I went on my tip-toes.”

“Sure you could.” Alex picks up her clutch in her right hand and reaches out for Kelley’s hand with her left. “Now come on, before we’re late.”

“Okay, love.” Kelley starts to take her hand but Alex pulls her hand away before she can. 

“And be careful with the nails. They’re still drying.”

“Okay, love,” Kelley says, a bit exasperated but the smile betrays her tone. “Am I driving?”

“Duh.”

 

\---

 

“The transition from best friend to girlfriend is easier than I thought it would be,” Kelley admits as they reach the venue.

“How so?”

“Well, loving you is easy. Obviously. And we already did a lot of coupley things like holding hands or cheek-kisses, or pet-names, but something about dating you, being yours,” Kelley pauses as she puts the car in park and glances over to Alex with a content sigh. “It feels right. Like this is how it always should have been.”

Alex smiles as she looks at Kelley. “I know what you mean.”

“I’ve dated a lot of people,” Kelley continues, and Alex rolls her eyes jokingly. “But nothing has ever felt like this. Being with you makes me feel whole.”

“You’re a sap, Kelley.”

Kelley laughs and shakes her head. “We’re at a wedding, I think I’m allowed to be a bit sappy. Now let’s get you in there, Miss. Bridesmaid.”

They get out of the car and Kelley wraps an arm around Alex’s waist as they walk into the building. Alex points to the far corner where her sisters and Jeni’s best friend are standing. “I think I’m supposed to be over there. Will you be okay by yourself?”

“Of course, Lex. I’ll find your parents soon enough, and I know how to make friends.”

“Okay, good.” Alex gives her a quick kiss on the cheek before walking away as fast as she can on her too-tall heels.

Kelley glances around the open area and starts weaving through chairs in the direction of Alex’s parents. “Miss. Morgan, Mr. Morgan,” Kelley greets, holding out her hand. 

“Kelley!” Alex’s mom pulls her into a hug and Kelley smiles as they pull away. “So, you’re dating my daughter?”

Kelley freezes for a moment, not quite sure how to respond, until Alex’s dad cuts in. 

“Oh, Pam, leave her alone.” He shakes his head and turns to Kelley. “As long as you continue to make Alex as happy as you’ve made her for the past three and a half years that you’ve been her friend, we support you.”

“Alex is following her all the way to North Carolina, Mike.”

He laughs in a kind way that keeps Kelley’s heart rate at a calm pace. “We knew they would follow each other after they graduated, at least now they’re actually dating and we know Alex is in good hands. Right, Kelley?’

“Right, sir,” Kelley says with an affirmative nod and Alex’s dad just laughs. 

“You haven’t called me sir since that first weekend you visited us your Freshman year. No need to start now just because you and Alex are dating.”

“Okay,” Kelley says with a nod as she feels some tension ease from her shoulders.

“And I was just teasing you, Kelley,” Alex’s mom says with a kind smile. “We love you and we know Alex loves you.”

“Oh, okay,” Kelley says with a light laugh. 

“I’m glad Alex is going with you to North Carolina.”

“Yeah?”

“Well of course. Alex wouldn’t have even opened those letters from the colleges yet if it weren’t for you.”

“She told you about that?” Kelley laughs and nods. “Yeah, I told her I had faith in her but she was too nervous.”

“You’re really good for her, Kelley.” Alex’s mom smiles warmly and reaches to take Kelley’s hand between her own. “You always have been.”

Those words make Kelley’s heart swell and any worries about not being good enough to love Alex, not being good enough to give Alex what she deserves, fly out of the window. She knows that she is enough for Alex, that she  _ will _ be enough, no matter what it takes. And that’s good enough for her.

 

\---

 

The ceremony goes by quickly enough. Kelley sits with Alex’s parents since Alex has to be up front and Kelley is comfortable enough, because she knows Alex’s parents and they already accept her as part of the family. 

“It’s probably easier that we ended up  _ really _ dating before we got here,” Kelley says to Alex, who finds her once the reception starts. 

“Why do you say that?” Alex asks with a light laugh. 

“I don’t think I would have been nervous enough for it to be realistic.” Kelley shrugs. “I’ve gotta have a healthy amount of nerves.”

“They’ve met you before.”

“But not as your girlfriend. It’s different, Al.”

Alex just rolls her eyes. “Are you nervous now?”

“Oh, I’m scared out of my mind.”

Alex just laughs and leans into Kelley, who wraps an arm around her waist as they walk on the outskirts of the dance floor.

“Nervous enough to say hi to my grandparents?”

“Deathly afraid,” Kelley affirms, and Alex laughs as she leads them around a table. 

“Grandma! Grandpa!” Alex steps away from Kelley to throw her arms around her grandparents as Kelley stays back a step. “It’s so nice to see you guys again.”

“And for such a good occasion,” Alex’s grandmother adds. “How are you, Kelley?”

“I’m great!” Kelley starts with a bright smile. “Really great, actually,” she continues as she catches Alex’s eye.

Alex feels her cheeks heat up and she glances down to her heels, which are already killing her, before back up to her grandparents. 

“What is new with our favorite college students?” Alex’s grandfather asks, glancing between the two of them.

“We’re dating now, actually,” Alex says, a bit nervously and her grandparents just smile fondly.

“So when did that start?”

Alex tenses for a moment, because the answer she wants to jump to (some romantic getaway sophomore year, the story they’d practiced the whole drive up) isn’t the  _ real _ answer. At least not anymore.

“The drive up here,” Kelley says with a practiced ease. Her nerves melt away because this is  _ easy _ , dating Alex is  _ easy _ . It just feels natural. She takes Alex’s hand and squeezes her fingers, helping melt Alex’s tension away. “We’ve been friends for awhile, as you know,” she says with a slight nod. “But eventually I just,” she glances over to Alex and smiles in a way that is genuine and kind and everything Alex loves about her. “Couldn’t resist.”

“Oh, what a love story,” Alex’s grandmother says and Kelley’s own words of  _ that’s us, Al, just another love story _ echo in her head.

Kelley smiles proudly with Alex’s hand in hers and gives an affirmative nod. “That’s us,” she says with an air of confidence that makes Alex stand up a bit straighter. Kelley looks over to Alex for a moment, taking in the vision of true beauty that Alex is; her perfect eyes, her perfect smile, her perfect, well, everything. “Just another love story.” She lifts Alex’s hand to her mouth and presses a kiss into the back of it, leaving a light lipstick stain. “And a pretty perfect one, if I do say so myself.”

Alex’s grandparents laugh as they watch the young couple become a little too preoccupied with each other to continue the conversation. “So when can we expect a wedding?” Alex’s grandfather cuts in, making Alex and Kelley break their gaze away from each other.

“Oh, grandpa,” Alex shakes her head quickly. “We just barely started dating, don’t--”

“He’s just teasing, dear,” Alex’s grandmother cuts in. “But don’t wait too long.” She gives Kelley a warning glance. “The women in this family don’t like waiting too long.” 

Kelley laughs nervously and nods. “Right, of course. I’ll take good care of her.”

“Okay, I think that’s enough for now,” Alex says as she starts to push Kelley away from her grandparents. “So nice to see you two again. We’ll stop back by later.”

“That went well, I think,” Kelley says as she wraps an arm around Alex’s waist and they start in the other direction.

“Yeah, if you ignore the thinly veiled threats about how we should get married soon.”

Kelley laughs easily and squeezes Alex’s hip for a moment. “It’s all good babe, I can handle it.”

“I’m glad.” Alex leads them over to an empty table and pulls Kelley down into a chair next to her. “Can we sit for awhile? My feet are killing me.”

“Already?”

“Nuh-uh,” Alex says quickly as she starts to take off her heels. “You don’t get to do that.”

“Do what?”

“Tease me about wearing painful shoes. You’re my girlfriend now, you have to be supportive.”

“I don’t have to support your dumb decisions.”

“Yes you do.” Alex sets her heels on the table and turns to look at Kelley. “And you have to rub my feet tonight.”

“I don’t remember that being in the fine print.” Kelley starts to stroke at her chin as if in deep thought. “Maybe I should rethink this whole girlfriend thing.”

“Don’t say that.” Alex smack Kelley’s arm playfully then pouts. 

“I don’t mean it, love.” Kelley leans closer to wrap an arm around Alex’s shoulders and press a kiss to her cheek. “How about we compromise, I can tease you for wearing those heels that I  _ told you _ not to pack,  _ and _ I’ll rub your feet tonight.”

Alex hums as she thinks for a moment then leans in to rest her head against Kelley’s shoulder. “Deal.”

 

\---

 

“Will you dance with me?” Alex asks, tugging on Kelley’s hand. 

“Of course I will. Shoes on or off?”

“Off, duh.” Alex leads them to the dance floor and falls into step with the music, looping her arms around the back of Kelley’s neck.

“Am I allowed to put my hands on your waist?”

“We’ve had sex, Kelley,” Alex says plainly and Kelley rolls her eyes.

“I meant is it okay in front of your family, but fine.” She places her hands on either side of Alex’s waist, where the lavender runs into the white of her long dress. “You really look gorgeous tonight,” she says softly, looking down at Alex who’s just an inch or so shorter thanks to Kelley’s small heels and Alex’s lack of shoes at all.

“Thank my sisters, they picked out this dress. Or my parents, they picked out these genes.” Alex winks and leans in to rest her head against Kelley’s chest. “Get it? That was a science joke. Because you’re a scientist.”

“I got it, Lex.”

“Good.” Alex presses in closer to Kelley and lets her eyes drift shut for a moment. “I feel safe,” she whispers into the strap of Kelley’s dress.

“What was that, love?”

Alex smiles as she pulls away and looks up before leaning in and pressing a kiss to the corner of Kelley’s mouth. “I said I feel safe. Here, in your arms, it’s the safest I’ve ever felt.”

Kelley smiles wide as Alex leans against her again. “Good, Lex. I promise to keep you safe.”

 

\---

 

“I’ve always liked weddings,” Kelley says absentmindedly. They stopped dancing soon before the buffet opened and now that everyone is back up and around, they’ve been able to eat and find a spot to just sit and enjoy each other.

“Yeah?” Alex presses further into Kelley’s side as they watch the couples dance. “What would you want yours to be like?”

Kelley laughs lightly and turns to press a kiss to the top of Alex’s head. “We just started dating Al, don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“I know.” Alex rolls her eyes but leans up to look at Kelley. “I was just curious.”

Kelley smiles down at her and gives her a kiss that is impossibly too light and fast to satisfy Alex, but she tucks herself back into Kelley anyway. 

“Besides, it feels like we’ve been dating forever,” she says softly, almost as if she hopes Kelley won’t hear. 

“Agreed,” Kelley whispers and she squeezes Alex’s arm. “I should’ve asked you out a long time ago,” she says simply. 

“Took you long enough,” Alex teases as she pulls away to look at Kelley. “We missed out on so much kissing.”

“We have the rest of our lives to kiss, Lex.”

“Still.” Alex leans forward to kiss Kelley as if making a point. “Don’t you wish we had a few more years of that?”

Kelley just smiles easily as she looks at Alex. “I’m perfectly happy with the way things worked out,” she says, and Alex completely believes her. 

“You make it easy,” Alex says as she rests against Kelley. 

“What easy?”

“Love.”

Kelley wraps her arms around Alex and smiles proudly. “You’re an easy person to love. I’ve loved you for a long time, Lex. And I don’t plan to stop anytime soon.”

“Agreed.”

 

\---

 

The wedding is perfect. Kelley fits in seamlessly with Alex’s family as Alex’s girlfriend, just as seamlessly as she did as Alex’s best friend, and everything is perfect. They see the happy couple off the next morning for their honeymoon and they run into Alex’s parents as they check out of the hotel the next morning. 

“I still can’t believe Alex forgot to book her flight.” Kelley shakes her head with a sigh. “The most forgetful woman I’ve ever known.”

“Oh, honey,” Alex’s mom looks at her, confused. “Alex always planned to drive up, with you.”

“With me? Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. That’s why Jeri had a spot for you in the seating arrangement and everything. We always knew you were coming.”

Kelley frowns and glances over to Alex, who’s talking to her dad just a few feet away. 

“She told me road trips are more fun, anyway. How  _ was _ the trip up here?”

Kelley’s frown dissipates as she thinks of their road trip; the laughs and the memories and the moments that exist for just the two of them. She smiles fondly as she watches Alex continue talking to her dad, and thinks about how Alex claimed she forgot to book a flight, claimed she needed a buddy for the drive, claimed this was all an accident. 

Kelley laughs softly as her lips turn up into a smile and she glances back to Alex’s mom. “Oh, road trips are the best, definitely. The trip was great, the trip was,” she pauses for a moment and glances to Alex who looks over at the same time and they share a smile. “The trip was perfect,” she says with a small sigh of content. “I mean, I started dating Alex, so,” she laughs at nothing in particular. “How much more perfect can it get?”

Alex and her dad walk over just then and Alex places a hand on Kelley’s arm. “We should really get going, Kell.”

“Of course, love.” Kelley hugs Alex's parents then takes Alex's hand in her own and leads them to the car. “So your mom tells me that you always planned for me to come along,” Kelley says with a teasing tone. “That true?”

“It is,” Alex says with a shrug. 

“And you had to let me know the night before? What if I had been busy? You know I would have said yes.”

Alex shrugs again. “I just kind of assumed you would drop everything and come with me if I asked you to.”

Kelley frowns. “And that’s exactly what I did.”

“Yep,” Alex says with a smile. “That’s not a bad thing.”

Kelley laughs and shakes her head. 

“So are you gonna drive the whole way back?” Alex asks, leaning into Kelley as they walk to the car.

“I might.”

“Now that we’re dating, are you just gonna say yes to everything I ask?”

Kelley laughs as she unlocks the car. “Not quite.”

“But just about?”

“Yeah, Lex, just about.”

Alex gets into the car and immediately reaches out for Kelley’s hand. “I could get used to this.”

“To me giving you everything you want?”

“No, silly.” Alex pulls Kelley’s hand up to kiss her knuckles. “To being loved by you.”

“Oh, Lex.” Kelley smiles brightly as she starts the car. “I’ve always loved you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! Questions/comments/concerns can be left here or on tumblr @beckysaucrbrunn (my main blog) or @whatthekellex (mine & my friend's Kellex blog). There WILL be an epilogue that I'll post eventually but no promises for exactly when. Thanks for reading, hope you liked it!!


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